My Treehouse

My Treehouse

By Sheri McComb

           I’ve had a rough childhood. When I was two years old my mom left us to go live in a commune in California. My dad never mentions her and I barely remember her. Dad put all of our pictures of her in a drawer and sometimes when he’s at work I sneak into his room to look at them. I’m afraid I’ll forget her completely. She was really beautiful and everyone says I have her smile. I look at her smiling face in the pictures and I don’t see the resemblance. My dad would be mad if he knew I was looking at the pictures, so I’m careful to put them back exactly how I find them. 

           The second thing making my childhood difficult is that last month, right before fourth grade started my dad got transferred from his job to a new branch of their office. We moved from Brooklyn, New York to a little town in Oregon called Newberg. It’s just outside of Portland where my dad’s new job is. It’s in the middle of nowhere and I hate it. I had to leave all my friends behind. This is the most boring town ever. Nothing fun or exciting happens here. Our new house is nice enough. Dad makes good money, so I guess there’s that. I have my own room and the basement is pretty awesome.  

           The weekend after we moved in my dad told me we were going to build a treehouse. I was pretty unenthused about the idea, but he seemed excited so I went along with it. When I saw the pile of lumber under the tree, I was wondering how in the world we were going to turn that into a treehouse. My dad is an engineer, so he knows all about construction. It only took us a couple of weekends to finish the treehouse. 

           This was no ordinary treehouse. The tree we built it in is huge so there was room to make it big.  There’s a ladder that leads up to the house and when you step off the ladder you’re standing on a wrap around walkway. The front door is arched and has a window and everything. When you walk inside you can see there’s another window at the back of the treehouse and it’s big enough to climb out onto the back “porch” where there’s a swing with a seat wide enough for two. Dad said I could sit out here and read. I collect comic books so I think it will be cool to sit on the swing and read about my favorite superheroes. 

           Inside the treehouse there’s a bench built in to the wall on one side of the room. On the end wall there’s a table with hinges so it folds up flat against the wall. You just pull it down when you want to use it and the legs unfold to hold the other end up. Dad says it’s something like a Murphy bed, but I have no idea what that is. It makes a table in front of the bench that’s perfect for eating on or playing games. On the other side of the room there’s a bunk bed. It has a ladder to climb up to the top bunk. Dad put a window above it so I can lay up there and see the moon and stars. He said the treehouse will be a fun place for me and my friends to hang out. If I make any, that is. School stars on Monday so all I have is this weekend to enjoy summer break then it’s back to learning. I’m pretty nervous about not knowing anyone. 

           It’s Saturday and I’m going to spend the afternoon in my new treehouse for the first time. Dad said I have to finish my chores first and then I’m free! I can’t wait to try out my new hideout. I have a backpack full of things I’m going to take with me. I packed my comic books, some snacks, my Gameboy, and a blanket and pillow. I can’t wait to get up there! I just finished my chores and was finishing lunch when my dad called me into his den.

           “What’s up, Dad? I want to get out to the treehouse,” I said impatiently. 

           “Yeah, about that,” he said with a sheepish look on his face. “Listen, my new manager is coming over this afternoon. He said his son is starting the fourth grade at the school you’ll be attending. I told him to bring him over so you could know at least one person on Monday.”

           “Dad!” I complained. “I was planning to spend the day in my treehouse!” This was not what I had planned at all. “Why do I have to be stuck with a stranger? What if he’s weird? He probably hates comic books.” I was really mad at my dad for ruining my last Saturday of summer break. I started to stomp out of the room.

           “Trent!” my dad said sternly. I stopped walking away but kept my back to him. “Turn around, son,” he said. I did, reluctantly. 

           “Just give him a chance, okay? Please? This is all new for me, too.” He had a pleading look on his face. I felt a little guilty then because he had tried to make this whole moving thing easier on me. 

           “Fine,” I sighed. “I’ll be nice to him.” I really wasn’t looking forward to this. Just then we heard car doors. They were here.

           Dad went to the front door and I heard their voices as he let them in. Then they appeared at the den door. Dad was smiling and introduced everyone.

           “Trent, this is my manager Charles Rhodes and this is his son Chase.” Charles put his hand out to shake mine like I was an adult. I liked that. I shook his hand and turned to Chase. We were the same height and could have passed for brothers with our matching brown hair and blue eyes. Chase smiled and said, “Nice to meet you.” I liked him immediately. He had a charm about him and seemed friendly. 

           “Same,” I said. “My dad and I just finished building a treehouse. Want to check it out?” I asked him.

           “Sure!” he agreed and I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door, Chase following behind me. Maybe the day wasn’t ruined after all. It would be nice to know someone at my new school.

           When Chase saw the treehouse, he stopped and stared. “Wow, cool! It’s huge!” he said.

           “I know!” I grinned. “C’mon!” We climbed the ladder and when we opened the door of the treehouse Chase looked around wide eyed.

           “You are so lucky!” he said. I dropped the backpack on the floor and walked over to the window. 

           “Look at this,” I gestured. He walked over and looked outside the window at the swing. 

           “Can we sit on that?” he asked me. “It looks awesome!”

           My answer was to climb out the window and he followed. We sat on the swing and looked out over the yard. We looked at each other and grinned. “Do you like comic books?” I asked Chase.

           “I collect them,” he answered. “My favorites are Iron Man and The Flash.”

           I couldn’t believe it. We liked the same comic books. “Have you read the newest ones with The Hulk?”

           “Are you kidding?” he asked. “I haven’t been able to find them.”

           I pulled them out of my backpack with a big smile. I handed him one and I kept the other. “We can read them and then switch,” I said. He happily took it and we sat there and read, our legs dangling over the seat. 

           After we finished reading, I asked Chase if he was hungry. He was so we climbed back through the window and opened my backpack to see what goodies I’d brought. I pulled out Twinkies, Fritos, and Juice boxes. We dug in and ate in companionable silence. When we finished, we sat on the bench and talked. 

           “So, what’s the school like? Are the teachers nice?” I asked Chase.

           He looked at me in surprise. “Didn’t your dad tell you? We just moved here too. I don’t know anyone there.”

           “Well, you know me, so at least we both have one friend,” I replied. I was really glad my dad had forced Chase on me. We were both in the same boat, starting over at a new school.

           “Where are you from?” I asked him.

           “We moved here from Indiana,” he answered. “Where are you from?”

           “New York,” I said. “Indiana? What’s it like there?” I asked, curious.

           “Boring,” he said. “Really, really boring. Lots of cornfields.”

           The look on his face made me crack up. “All you see in New York is people and taxis,” I said. “It’s loud and it smells bad.”

           “Well, the manure they use on the fields smells pretty bad,” Chase said and then we both cracked up. “Where’s your mom?” he asked me.

           “She died when I was little. It’s just me and my dad,” I said matter-of-factly.

           “That’s too bad. Sorry,” Chase said quickly. 

           “It’s fine,” I said. I don’t really remember her. “What about your mom?” I asked him.

           “Sometimes I wish it was just me and my dad,” Chase said morosely. I laughed out loud. I liked this guy. He had a good sense of humor. Chase continued, “She’s a nurse and I have a little sister and Mom always takes her side.” He rolled his eyes at me. I was glad I didn’t have a little sister.

           “Hey, I brought my Gameboy. Do you want to play?” I asked Chase. He nodded and we were so engrossed in our games that we didn’t notice my dad peering in the front door. 

           “Hello boys,” he said startling us. “What are you up to?”

           We both looked up and said, “Games,” then looked at each other and started laughing. The look on my dad’s face made us laugh harder. He smiled, a little confused, but grown ups usually are confused about what makes kids laugh. 

           “Chase’s dad is getting ready to leave,” he said. “He wants you to come down now.”

           Chase and I looked at Dad, very disappointed.  “But Dad, we’re having fun,” I protested. Then I got an idea. “Can Chase stay for dinner and spend the night? We could sleep up here.” I gestured around the treehouse. Chase looked thrilled at the idea and looked at my dad hopefully.

           “It’s fine with me if Charles doesn’t mind,” he answered. Just then Charles was approaching the bottom of the tree. 

           “Dad!” Chase yelled. “Trent’s dad said I can stay the night. Can I? Please?” he looked pleadingly at his father. My dad nodded when Charles looked at him. 

           “Okay,” Charles said and we exploded with “Yippee!” and “Yahoo!” Our dads looked at each other and shrugged as if to say, “Kids.” 

           “We’re the same size so Chase can borrow some pajamas from me,” I said helpfully. 

           Charles gave me a thumbs up and waved good-bye. “I’ll pick you up in the morning, bud,” he said over his shoulder. “Remember your manners and don’t stay up all night,” he said to Chase.

           “We won’t,” we both said at the same time. That cracked us up again and we sat down in the treehouse to plan our night.